Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao, from China, were recently shipped to Maryland and touched down about 28 hours ago as of writing this post. Here’s what you need to know.
The pandas have come from China, which as you know, is a far distance from here. The pandas will have to undergo many tests such as quarantine tests and medical tests, obviously for safety reasons. The pandas were well-fed in their cage in the underpart of a specialized animal transport FedEx plane with, uncoincidentally, a panda on it. This plane was codenamed the “FedEx Panda Express.”
Because of the medical tests, the pandas will sadly not be going into their exhibit for the next month or so. Although this is sad, this is also understandable, as they just traveled 7,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. They could have caught a lot of different diseases during their travels, so they need to assure that the animals are safe when they are done being transported. Therefore, that is evidently the reason why this will be a long wait. There will definitely be a very long line when the panda exhibit is released. The pilot reported there was no turbulence and the ride was smooth on their way to Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.
Washington Arrival of the Pandas
The Airport of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. was completely empty as the FedEx Panda Express delivered the pandas in the plane. There was special space in the back of the plane for the pandas. Funny enough, all of the airport workers wore neon vests reading “Panda Team” while they did their job. All of the marshalls guided the Panda Express plane to its gate safely and then it was transported in an escort out to the National Zoo. After the three Giant Pandas named Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji were sadly taken from the National Zoo 11 months ago, we have finally gotten a replacement. Two more giant pandas! The Giant Pandas traveled on the FedEx plane and took a refueling stop in Alaska.
“Our team has worked tirelessly to prepare for the pandas’ arrival, and we’re thrilled to welcome Bao Li and Qing Bao to Washington, D.C., the only place you can see giant pandas for free in the nation,” said Brandie Smith, the national zoo director who traveled to China to take part in farewell ceremonies for the bears there. “As a result of our collective efforts, today we joyfully celebrate a new chapter of our 52-year-long giant panda breeding and conservation program.”
-- The National Zoo
The National Zoo was closed last Tuesday to assure the safety and facilitate the arrival of the pandas. Though there were few people at the arrival, they were happily welcomed by the many National Zoo staff and news reporters. The pandas were escorted with forklifts and welcomed to their new environment. The “Giant Panda Cam,” a live camera by the National Zoo will be returning in the next month following the return of the Pandas in the exhibit. The pandas were shown their new exhibits and fed fresh bamboo, which also came along with the pandas. So far, none of them have been reported in bad condition or health, and they should be fine to return by the expected date of somewhere around November 15, 2024. Since they arrived on October 15, that is exactly 1 month.
These pandas were transferred by the U.S. and Chinese Government following the new 10-year agreement with the Chinese Authorities. The previous offer ended last year and was followed by some concern among American panda-lovers due to the idea that Beijing was gradually pulling away from sharing their wealth amid rising diplomatic tensions around Beijing and China in general. Though this was a rising concern in 2023, this has been resolved and the Chinese Government has now agreed to somewhat of a truce to the American government. Last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping covered a desire among lots of Americans, now admitting that America will be given the right to have some of their wealth, of course, in pandas. National Zoo officials had remained almost silent about these ideas until recently in the same Month, where they admitted the allegations around this being the truth was admitted to as being the truth. First lady Jill Biden teamed up with Smith and allowed the allegations to be publicly admitted, which started the transport attempt. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, credited the decades of cooperation with advancing research into panda preservation and breeding.
Because of this being accepted, this striked the American panda-lovers to be very excited about the newest hype around the exhibit, which is probably fueling the amount of people going to be there on the pandas’ release date.
Many people are hoping to see Bao Li and Qing Bao, so get your tickets early if you want to be the first to see the panda bears.
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